How weird.
Without knowing why, Tao Ling locked eyes with him for a moment. Then, he averted his eyes and grabbed a bouquet of purple daisies beside him, before putting it back again and grabbing two more bouquet of light green ones.
He liked this color very much. The greenish color gradually fades into a lighter color as it expands from the center of the flower to its petals, revealing a type of subtle delicacy. However, it looked very innocent at first glance.
Tao Jun will like too. After all, he’s such a showy person and likes things that are clean and simple-looking, but in reality are very sophisticated on the inside.
The young man walked up to Tao Ling and smiled at him as a form of greeting.
However, Tao Ling did not notice his expression, for he was in the middle of taking his phone out. After looking up, an extremely handsome yet expressionless face entered his sight, making his heart flutter even harder than the first time he observed it from afar.
What was that idiomatic expression again? Oh right—sword-like eyebrows, star-like eyes.1
[剑眉星目: When describing heroic men who have really straight eyebrows such that look like swords, and intense/glaring eyes such that look like stars.]
Tao Ling asked, “Hey boss, how much is a bundle?”
The young man looked at his lips in all seriousness, as though trying to make out his words. After Tao Ling finished talking, he raised both hands with the index finger out on the right, and a circle formed on the left.
Tao Ling nodded, thinking, as expected – and then – what a pity as he scanned the QR code in front of the glass entrance.
When the bank transfer page popped up, the recipient’s profile picture showed a bundle of small light green daisies, identical to the ones in his hands. The ID was “Wen Qingying.” Since the bank account had most likely been created with his real name, it was enclosed in parenthesis. The first two characters were asterisks, while the last one was “Ying.”
‘As light reflects clearly upon the crystalline water, the lonely whistles climb up the steep mountains.’2
[清映Qing1ying4 means clear luster/reflection]
If his name truly is Wen Qingying, then it’s indeed a nice name.
When Tao Ling finished paying, he saw that Wen Qingying had already entered the shop. It seemed like he could care less whether or not Tao Ling paid for the flowers.
Inside the shop, a small table was placed against the wall with flower-wrapping materials laid out on top. Wen Qingying was currently rummaging for something. His blouse would crease along the muscle lines of his lower back whenever he raised his arms.
Yoshikawa Tadao said: Movement in social hierarchy essentially concludes the freedom of people. If so, how can you evaluate a mute who owns a flower shop and someone who acts healthy and sane while holding the title of “teacher”?
Screw this damn freedom.
Tao Ling stood motionless for two seconds, preparing to leave already. However, Wen Qingying suddenly turned around with a piece of kraft paper in his hand and waved it at him. The paper fanned a cool breeze, making a mild sound.
Tao Ling then halted his steps. Wen Qingying motioned with his hand, pointing at the flowers the other party was hugging.
Just by looking at the way Wen Qingying was wrapping the flowers, Tao Ling could conclude that it was his first time opening a flower shop. And perhaps he was forced to do it.
Though Wen Qingying’s handwork cannot be rated as clumsy, that pair of hands seemed way too large when talking about flower wrapping. When pressing down the flower stems and wrapping paper, the other hand would struggle with tearing the clear tape after pulling it out. And then, it’d tangle into a ball. By the time he’d finally gotten a nice piece of tape torn out, the wrapping paper, however, had unfolded to its original state.
Tao Ling felt like laughing the more he watched. In the end, he helped him press down the flower stems. Wen Qingying then released his arms – both hands entering the battle – and was finally done wrapping the flowers after much struggle.
The long, slender hands grasped the mustard kraft paper. The veins on his hands were prominent, while the knuckles looked smooth and pretty. As Wen Qingying handed over the flowers to Tao Ling, he picked up a card from the table for him to read.
The card was written with: Changing the water regularly increases longevity.
“Thank you,” Tao Ling said.
Wen Qingying’s face was as nonchalant as before. He did not seem shamefaced like how Tao Ling had imagined he would. Nor did he feel awkward too, as if owning a flower shop while being bad at wrapping flowers was a totally normal thing.
After Tao Ling took the flowers, Wen Qingying turned around and picked up a Hydrangea to prune it.
Tao Ling moved the corner of his mouth and left the shop.
The cemetery was located in the suburban district. After taking the metro, Tao Ling still had to take the bus. Despite getting off of work a little earlier today, it was already 6 pm by the time he’d arrived at his destination.
The location of the gravestone he was headed to was a little high. Because Tao Ling had been very busy ever since the start of the school semester, he had a lot less time to exercise. As such, he became a little tired from walking up.
Holding the flowers with one hand and jacket over his arm, he sat on the base and leaned his back against the icy plaque, carefree.
The black and white picture attached to the gravestone was extremely clear. There, it showed a man in his 30s who’d be described as delicate and refined. He looked almost identical to Tao Ling at first glance; however, his eyes seemed a lot gentler than the latter.
“Tao Jun, I feel so goddamm tired. Say, what is this crappy place that you chose? Were you trying to torment me on purpose?” Tao Ling complained.
While doing so, he set the daisies beside him. “For you; it was a handsome man, no, a handsome boy—that’s also not it—it was a young handsome man who wrapped them for you. Although it’s a little loose, you should accept it out of consideration for his good looks.”
A flock of crows flew past, and the evening sky was edging closer.
“But seriously, your environment here is great. You don’t need to worry about dust allergy,” Tao Ling said, “and the crows here are bigger than that of the city—so fat. I don’t know if they will taste good after being roasted. Whatever, it’s not like I eat wild animals too.”
“Say, are there even crows within the city? We do. You know the grove next to the lotus pond at our school, right? I saw them there. Why did I enter the grove? What? I neither have a fucking girlfriend nor boyfriend. Try making another wild guess and I’ll beat you to death…… Whatever, I don’t need to, because you’re already dead anyways.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll tell you,” his voice became longer the more it dragged on, “I went there to reflect on life. That thesis had nearly choked me to death, but you were about to——just about to reunite with your lil bro in the netherworld. Doing research was a hell of a joke when I couldn’t even understand those goddamn Confucianism books. There were so many graduates yet it didn’t seem to me that someone had truly understood them. So don’t make fun of me, okay? Shouldn’t you try pursuing a doctorate degree first before you start attacking me? Choking me to death will make you happy, right? Watch me hang myself with a rope right now to accompany you.”
After talking so much, it was only then that Tao Ling realized he forgot to buy water.
A cool wind blew past. The night had fallen to complete darkness. He donned the jacket, and let out a deep sigh. “Screw Autumn, Tao Jun. I don’t like Autumn in the least little bit.”
He raised his arm to check his watch. It was already almost 8 pm.
“Surprisingly, I chatted with you today for such a long time. You should give me money.” Tao Ling smiled for a moment, before finally getting up and dusting himself off. “I’m leaving now. I still have to go to work tomorrow morning.”
When Tao Ling turned around, he thought to himself, I’m the elegant Mr. Tao as long as I’m not talking to Tao Jun.
But right after he took two steps ahead, a snapping sound suddenly came from the side.
Tao Ling quivered inside his heart. When he took a side-look, he just happened to see a large juniper shrub shaking nearby, and then a person appeared from the middle. He couldn’t help taking a half-step to the side.
The distant street lamp has been lit up for quite a while. However, it only cast a little bit of light here. But by using this stingy amount of light, Tao Ling was able to see clearly the stunned face of the comer.
“Wen Qingying?” he blurted out.
He immediately frowned after closing his mouth. He seemed to have pronounced this name in silence this afternoon, and he even did it more than once. Yet surprisingly, the name was called out in such a natural manner.
Good thing that he’s deaf… but that doesn’t sound right either.
Wen Qingying blinked his eyes.
Tao Ling heaved a sigh of relief. Taking advantage of the fact that the other party can’t hear, he whispered, “You didn’t speak so I almost pissed my pants off. I even thought it was a ghost… hehe, don’t get me wrong, I’m not scared of ghosts at all. I’m only scared of Tao Jun.”
Wen Qingying released the thuja branch from his hand, walked up to him, and dusted himself off.
“What are you doing here?” Tao Ling asked. One word at a time.
Regardless of whether or not he can lip-read, there’s no harm in speaking slower too.
After the shock from a moment ago had dispelled, Wen Qingying quickly regained his calm. Seeing Tao Ling talking, he pointed to his side, and then fished out his phone to type.
The light emitted by the screen illuminated his face. Before Tao Ling could even examine it carefully, the phone was already raised before him.
The notepad was written with: “How coincident; I remember you, you were the mister who bought flowers this afternoon. I followed the pathway and came here to see my mother. Did I scare you? I thought the cemetery would be empty at this hour.”
“No, no,” Tao Ling waved off at him.
Author’s Note:
As light reflects clearly upon the crystalline water, the lonely whistles climb up the steep mountains: A stanza from Zhou Mi’s poem, 《感秋杂兴十解》其一 (First of the series).
How weird.
Without knowing why, Tao Ling locked eyes with him for a moment. Then, he averted his eyes and grabbed a bouquet of purple daisies beside him, before putting it back again and grabbing two more bouquet of light green ones.
He liked this color very much. The greenish color gradually fades into a lighter color as it expands from the center of the flower to its petals, revealing a type of subtle delicacy. However, it looked very innocent at first glance.
Tao Jun will like too. After all, he’s such a showy person and likes things that are clean and simple-looking, but in reality are very sophisticated on the inside.
The young man walked up to Tao Ling and smiled at him as a form of greeting.
However, Tao Ling did not notice his expression, for he was in the middle of taking his phone out. After looking up, an extremely handsome yet expressionless face entered his sight, making his heart flutter even harder than the first time he observed it from afar.
What was that idiomatic expression again? Oh right—sword-like eyebrows, star-like eyes.1
[剑眉星目: When describing heroic men who have really straight eyebrows such that look like swords, and intense/glaring eyes such that look like stars.]
Tao Ling asked, “Hey boss, how much is a bundle?”
The young man looked at his lips in all seriousness, as though trying to make out his words. After Tao Ling finished talking, he raised both hands with the index finger out on the right, and a circle formed on the left.
Tao Ling nodded, thinking, as expected – and then – what a pity as he scanned the QR code in front of the glass entrance.
When the bank transfer page popped up, the recipient’s profile picture showed a bundle of small light green daisies, identical to the ones in his hands. The ID was “Wen Qingying.” Since the bank account had most likely been created with his real name, it was enclosed in parenthesis. The first two characters were asterisks, while the last one was “Ying.”
‘As light reflects clearly upon the crystalline water, the lonely whistles climb up the steep mountains.’2
[清映Qing1ying4 means clear luster/reflection]
If his name truly is Wen Qingying, then it’s indeed a nice name.
When Tao Ling finished paying, he saw that Wen Qingying had already entered the shop. It seemed like he could care less whether or not Tao Ling paid for the flowers.
Inside the shop, a small table was placed against the wall with flower-wrapping materials laid out on top. Wen Qingying was currently rummaging for something. His blouse would crease along the muscle lines of his lower back whenever he raised his arms.
Yoshikawa Tadao said: Movement in social hierarchy essentially concludes the freedom of people. If so, how can you evaluate a mute who owns a flower shop and someone who acts healthy and sane while holding the title of “teacher”?
Screw this damn freedom.
Tao Ling stood motionless for two seconds, preparing to leave already. However, Wen Qingying suddenly turned around with a piece of kraft paper in his hand and waved it at him. The paper fanned a cool breeze, making a mild sound.
Tao Ling then halted his steps. Wen Qingying motioned with his hand, pointing at the flowers the other party was hugging.
Just by looking at the way Wen Qingying was wrapping the flowers, Tao Ling could conclude that it was his first time opening a flower shop. And perhaps he was forced to do it.
Though Wen Qingying’s handwork cannot be rated as clumsy, that pair of hands seemed way too large when talking about flower wrapping. When pressing down the flower stems and wrapping paper, the other hand would struggle with tearing the clear tape after pulling it out. And then, it’d tangle into a ball. By the time he’d finally gotten a nice piece of tape torn out, the wrapping paper, however, had unfolded to its original state.
Tao Ling felt like laughing the more he watched. In the end, he helped him press down the flower stems. Wen Qingying then released his arms – both hands entering the battle – and was finally done wrapping the flowers after much struggle.
The long, slender hands grasped the mustard kraft paper. The veins on his hands were prominent, while the knuckles looked smooth and pretty. As Wen Qingying handed over the flowers to Tao Ling, he picked up a card from the table for him to read.
The card was written with: Changing the water regularly increases longevity.
“Thank you,” Tao Ling said.
Wen Qingying’s face was as nonchalant as before. He did not seem shamefaced like how Tao Ling had imagined he would. Nor did he feel awkward too, as if owning a flower shop while being bad at wrapping flowers was a totally normal thing.
After Tao Ling took the flowers, Wen Qingying turned around and picked up a Hydrangea to prune it.
Tao Ling moved the corner of his mouth and left the shop.
The cemetery was located in the suburban district. After taking the metro, Tao Ling still had to take the bus. Despite getting off of work a little earlier today, it was already 6 pm by the time he’d arrived at his destination.
The location of the gravestone he was headed to was a little high. Because Tao Ling had been very busy ever since the start of the school semester, he had a lot less time to exercise. As such, he became a little tired from walking up.
Holding the flowers with one hand and jacket over his arm, he sat on the base and leaned his back against the icy plaque, carefree.
The black and white picture attached to the gravestone was extremely clear. There, it showed a man in his 30s who’d be described as delicate and refined. He looked almost identical to Tao Ling at first glance; however, his eyes seemed a lot gentler than the latter.
“Tao Jun, I feel so goddamm tired. Say, what is this crappy place that you chose? Were you trying to torment me on purpose?” Tao Ling complained.
While doing so, he set the daisies beside him. “For you; it was a handsome man, no, a handsome boy—that’s also not it—it was a young handsome man who wrapped them for you. Although it’s a little loose, you should accept it out of consideration for his good looks.”
A flock of crows flew past, and the evening sky was edging closer.
“But seriously, your environment here is great. You don’t need to worry about dust allergy,” Tao Ling said, “and the crows here are bigger than that of the city—so fat. I don’t know if they will taste good after being roasted. Whatever, it’s not like I eat wild animals too.”
“Say, are there even crows within the city? We do. You know the grove next to the lotus pond at our school, right? I saw them there. Why did I enter the grove? What? I neither have a fucking girlfriend nor boyfriend. Try making another wild guess and I’ll beat you to death…… Whatever, I don’t need to, because you’re already dead anyways.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll tell you,” his voice became longer the more it dragged on, “I went there to reflect on life. That thesis had nearly choked me to death, but you were about to——just about to reunite with your lil bro in the netherworld. Doing research was a hell of a joke when I couldn’t even understand those goddamn Confucianism books. There were so many graduates yet it didn’t seem to me that someone had truly understood them. So don’t make fun of me, okay? Shouldn’t you try pursuing a doctorate degree first before you start attacking me? Choking me to death will make you happy, right? Watch me hang myself with a rope right now to accompany you.”
After talking so much, it was only then that Tao Ling realized he forgot to buy water.
A cool wind blew past. The night had fallen to complete darkness. He donned the jacket, and let out a deep sigh. “Screw Autumn, Tao Jun. I don’t like Autumn in the least little bit.”
He raised his arm to check his watch. It was already almost 8 pm.
“Surprisingly, I chatted with you today for such a long time. You should give me money.” Tao Ling smiled for a moment, before finally getting up and dusting himself off. “I’m leaving now. I still have to go to work tomorrow morning.”
When Tao Ling turned around, he thought to himself, I’m the elegant Mr. Tao as long as I’m not talking to Tao Jun.
But right after he took two steps ahead, a snapping sound suddenly came from the side.
Tao Ling quivered inside his heart. When he took a side-look, he just happened to see a large juniper shrub shaking nearby, and then a person appeared from the middle. He couldn’t help taking a half-step to the side.
The distant street lamp has been lit up for quite a while. However, it only cast a little bit of light here. But by using this stingy amount of light, Tao Ling was able to see clearly the stunned face of the comer.
“Wen Qingying?” he blurted out.
He immediately frowned after closing his mouth. He seemed to have pronounced this name in silence this afternoon, and he even did it more than once. Yet surprisingly, the name was called out in such a natural manner.
Good thing that he’s deaf… but that doesn’t sound right either.
Wen Qingying blinked his eyes.
Tao Ling heaved a sigh of relief. Taking advantage of the fact that the other party can’t hear, he whispered, “You didn’t speak so I almost pissed my pants off. I even thought it was a ghost… hehe, don’t get me wrong, I’m not scared of ghosts at all. I’m only scared of Tao Jun.”
Wen Qingying released the thuja branch from his hand, walked up to him, and dusted himself off.
“What are you doing here?” Tao Ling asked. One word at a time.
Regardless of whether or not he can lip-read, there’s no harm in speaking slower too.
After the shock from a moment ago had dispelled, Wen Qingying quickly regained his calm. Seeing Tao Ling talking, he pointed to his side, and then fished out his phone to type.
The light emitted by the screen illuminated his face. Before Tao Ling could even examine it carefully, the phone was already raised before him.
The notepad was written with: “How coincident; I remember you, you were the mister who bought flowers this afternoon. I followed the pathway and came here to see my mother. Did I scare you? I thought the cemetery would be empty at this hour.”
“No, no,” Tao Ling waved off at him.
Author’s Note:
As light reflects clearly upon the crystalline water, the lonely whistles climb up the steep mountains: A stanza from Zhou Mi’s poem, 《感秋杂兴十解》其一 (First of the series).
